The present invention relates to a new and improved construction of an overhead cable transport installation, especially an aerial cableway.
Generally speaking, the overhead cable transport installation, especially the aerial cableway of the present development which is capable of operating at relatively high conveying capacities, is of the type comprising at least one travelling transport cable which revolvingly moves or circulates between two stations. Vehicles, such as gondolas or cabins by way of example but not limitation, which, however, also could be constituted by, for instance, chair lifts, are coupled with such revolvingly moving cable. There is also provided a path of travel or travelling path for the vehicles at least at one station when the vehicles are de-coupled or released from the travelling cable. This travelling path or path of travel comprises, viewed in the direction of travel of the vehicles, a deceleration section or path, a disembarking section or path, a transfer section or path, an embarking section or path and an acceleration section or path. There are also provided brake or braking means in order to reduce the travel velocity of the vehicles at the deceleration section or path and drive means in order to increase the travel velocity of the vehicles at the acceleration section or path. Equally, there are provided conveyor or conveying means for maintaining the vehicles in motion when located at the disembarking section or path, the transfer section or path and the embarking section or path.
Overhead cable transport installations of the aforementioned type are well known in this technology as revolving transport or conveying devices operating at high conveying capacity. This conveying capacity is predicated, apart from the comparatively high velocity of movement of the travelling transport cable, upon the presence of a large number of vehicles which are continuously in revolving or circulating motion during their transit between respective stations.
The time interval between successive vehicles --also conveniently referred to in the art as "clock"--is constant throughout the entire revolving path of travel for such conveyor installations and accordingly remains unchanged also when the vehicles pass through the stations. On the other hand, the travel velocity of the vehicles at the embarking section or path and at the disembarking section or path is necessarily appreciably smaller than the velocity of the vehicles when coupled with the travelling transport cable. It will therefore be readily appreciated that as a result of these conditions the situation necessarily arises that for the same time interval two directly successive or neighboring vehicles approach that much closer to one another the smaller the vehicle travel velocity is maintained at the embarking and disembarking sections. However, there are limits placed upon how close the vehicles can approach one another and, specifically, such is dictated by the contour or outline dimensions of the vehicles, for instance the vehicle cabin or gondola by way of example, as well as the smallest arc radius or radius of curvature for the transfer section or path between the embarking section and the disembarking section.
These dimensions, which as a general rule are fixed by the design of the overhead cable transport installation, govern the smallest geometric spacing or pitch between the successive vehicles, and thus, for a given vehicle travel velocity, also the aforementioned time interval or clock of the installation.
With the aim of achieving a further increase in the conveying capacity attempts have been made with a number of aerial cableways which are presently in operation to avoid critical approach or proximity of the vehicles at the transfer section or path by providing a high vehicle velocity during embarking and disembarking. However, high vehicle velocities at the embarking and disembarking sections are at least discomforting for the users of the aerial cableway system, if not in fact under certain conditions dangerous and likely to promote accidents.